The Early Years

Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth

The cries of thousands of children left suddenly orphaned in the wake of the War of 1812 and the Civil War sparked the evolution of what today are among the largest and most vital Catholic charitable agencies. The Catholic Benevolent League, organized by a group of laymen to care for these abandoned children, marked the first major Catholic charitable endeavor in New York. The freed Haitian slave Pierre Toussaint joined forces with the Sisters of Charity, personally and financially supporting their orphanage on Prince Street. This small Greenwich Village brownstone was the predecessor of the New York Foundling Hospital. In 1869, the first infant was left on its doorstep. Thousands would follow.

The Sisters of St. Dominic and the Good Shepherd Sisters began ministries for children that blossomed into Good Shepherd Services and St. Dominic’s Home. Meanwhile, Fr. John Drumgoole traveled from St. Mary’s parish in lower Manhattan to purchase hundreds of acres on Staten Island for the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin to serve as a safe country haven for orphaned and troubled street boys and girls. Laymen heading the St. Vincent DePaul Society established the Catholic Home Bureau as the nation’s first foster-home agency. To care for those discharged from foster care and reentering their communities, the Catholic Guardian Society was founded in 1908. Catholic Big Sisters and Catholic Big Brothers offered mentoring, of struggling youth by steady young men and women. Meanwhile, Grace Institute helped poor immigrant women master job skills, enabling them to earn a living and support their children at home.

In the beginning of the 20th Century, as Catholic services expanded, debates, characterized by negative religious overtones, challenged the right of Catholic agencies to serve the poor. These agencies responded by asking Cardinal Hayes to bring together Catholic services within the New York Archdiocese under a single umbrella to confront prejudice and promote mutual support. Mid-way through World War I in 1917, a special Act of the New York State Legislature incorporated The Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York. This federation already served as the largest caretaker for orphaned and unwanted children, providing dependent and institutional care for over 10,000 youngsters.